'Catcher in the Rye' will be available digitally for the first time this week

Abigail Rosenthal, GateHouse Media

Monday

Aug 12, 2019 at 10:54 AM

Your e-book library can now expand to include a classic. J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" and other works by the author will be available digitally for the first time.

A New York Times profile and publisher Little, Brown and Company announced that digital editions of Salinger's four books will be available this week.

“This week, in the first step of a broader revival that could reshape the world’s understanding of Salinger and his writing.” We’re thrilled to announce that J.D. Salinger’s books will soon be available to read digitally.https://t.co/IvDRdvaQ1s

&mdash; Little, Brown and Co (@littlebrown)August 11, 2019

Salinger's son Matt decided to release his father's four books to allow more readers to experience works like "The Catcher in the Rye" and "Nine Stories." J. D. Salinger was famously private and had a strong dislike for the internet, computers and technology, which prevented the digital release of his work before now.

“There were few things my father loved more than the full tactile experience of reading a printed book, but he may have loved his readers more — and not just the ‘ideal private reader’ he wrote about, but all his readers,” Matt Salinger said according to the Associated Press.

Matt Salinger also has plans to released decades of unpublished work J.D. Salinger completed before his death in 2010 at age 91, though Matt Salinger expects it will take five to seven years to release all of it. J. D. Salinger's last published work was the short story "Hapworth 16, 1924."

"The Catcher in the Rye," "Nine Stories," "Franny and Zooey," and "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction" will be available digitally Aug. 13.

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